He shrugged, then glanced over at me with a sly smile. “You’re one tiny human. I doubt any of my utility bills will go up much.”

I grinned. “How do you know? Maybe I like to take two-hour-long showers. Plus, I like food. And for the first time, I’ll be able to eat whatever I want. I want to eat everything.”

Greid let out a throaty laugh. “I like food too, and trust me, I eat way more than you.”

“Because you’re always high?”

He shot me a weak glare. “I’m not always high. I’m not high right now.”

“Your self-restraint is awe-inspiring,” I deadpanned.

He huffed. “I just like food, okay? Even when I’m not high.”

Smirking a little, I asked, “Do you like to cook?”

“Uh… no,” he admitted sheepishly. “I order takeout a lot.”

“That’s fine with me,” I said eagerly. “I want to try all different kinds of foods. What will we have tonight?”

He glanced over with a tiny smile. “What do you want to try first?”

I thought about it for a second. “Burgers. But, like, with everything you can get on top. Cheese, bacon, pickles…”

“You’ve never had a burger?” He looked back at the compound, now way above us as we descended the hill. His yellow eyes narrowed. “This place is cursed.”

Greid’s car was a tall older-model SUV. In black, obviously. He juggled with my suitcases to open the passenger door for me, which made me smile, then went around to load my luggage into the back.

I realised why he had such a big car when he slid into the driver’s seat beside me and still had to hunch a little, his knees framing the steering wheel. My mouth twitched again as he glanced over sheepishly and pulled on the front of his sweater a few times.

“Sorry. I, uh, got kinda sweaty running up those fucking stairs.” He fumbled to put the keys in the ignition, and once the engine roared to life, he rolled down his window.

“Don’t worry.” Honestly, the car smelled fine, and he smelled… kinda good. There was a hint of clean sweat beneath warmed skin, with a soft, comforting scent drifting from his clothes. I wondered if it was the shade herb he smoked.

Greid cleared his throat, long fingers fidgeting on the steering wheel. “Ready?”

“Yes.” My voice came out a little hoarse, so I repeated, “Yes. I’m ready.”

I refused to look up at the compound as he smoothly pulled away from the side of the road. I was feeling surprisingly calm, but I wondered if it just hadn’t sunk in yet, and I didn’t want to risk a sudden bout of panic if I looked up the hill as we drove away.

Instead, I focused on the park to our right. It was huge and sprawling, lined with trees that eventually melted into the dense forest to the east. I knew that somewhere deep in that forest were the entrances to the place the demiurgus originally came from. They were protected landmarks now, and heavily guarded at all times by a division of the military made up entirely of demiurgus whose sole task was to watch over the areas. Evidently, they didn’t want curious humans going down there, but the demiurgus could come and go as they pleased.

There were several similar landmarks across the world, and when the demiurgus had come to the surface long ago, they’d settled in groups in the nearby land. It meant that some cities and towns didn’t have a single demiurgus citizen, while cities like ours had demiurgus populations so high that specialised businesses and purpose-built homes existed for them.

The global population was still around one demiurgus for every thousand humans, which maybe explained why cults like The Order existed. They were somewhat rare—some humans went their entire lives without ever meeting one in person. If I’d been born anywhere else, that could’ve been the case.

Greid and I didn’t speak for a while as we left the park behind and got closer to the city, but it wasn’t awkward. Which, in itself, was probably a little strange. I’d now had a grand total of two conversations with Greid. I’d met him less than twenty-four hours ago. Maybe I was comfortable with him because he wasn’t human, and I’d been surrounded by odd or shitty humans my whole life.

Or maybe it was just him. He put me at ease, probably because he seemed like a bit of a dork, despite his imposing appearance—the looming height, the long, dark hair, the claws and tail and refined, sharp features. He came across as a little shy, and I was the opposite of shy. I’d had to be to convince everyone at the cult that I was just as enthralled with the demiurgus as they were.

I’d gone into this arrangement for what I could get out of it—a safe way out of the cult, a chance to experience the real world and do what I wanted without the threat of homelessness—but now that it was actually happening, I wanted to fulfil my end of the bargain too. I thought Greid and I could become pretty good friends. We already seemed to get on well enough.

Being in his presence felt easy. Maybe that was because I could truly be myself around him—I didn’t have to constantly remember to keep up appearances. I didn’t have to lie.

But I was pretty sure it was also just him. He seemed like a weird blend of high-strung and laidback that amused me but also put me at ease. And he was a terrible liar, which made me feel safe with him—like we would both just be completely honest with each other. Because why wouldn’t we be? We were technically just two strangers who were going to be living together. We had no reason to hide bits of ourselves. Aside from Violet, he actually already knew more about me than any other person in the world.

What a strange thought. I glanced over at him as he drove, one hand wrapped lightly around the base of the steering wheel and the other fiddling with a loose thread on his sweater. He looked over and gave me a slightly nervous smile, the tips of his sharp teeth just visible. It softened me to him even more.

“Thank you for doing this, Greid,” I said. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be given this chance to actually, you know, live a normal life.”

“Oh. Um, it’s okay.” He coughed and gave an awkward shrug. “Well, hopefully it works out for you.”

“And you.” I couldn’t help but reach over and poke him in the arm. “I’m gonna be the best buddy you ever had. I’m gonna be glued to your side, pal. You’ll be wanting to send me back in a week.”

He huffed a little laugh, yellow eyes darting over to me before returning to the road. “You don’t actually have to do that. We can just…” He shrugged again shyly. “Hang out sometimes.”

“We will,” I declared, looking out the window as the city loomed closer, high-rise buildings gleaming black and silver in the sun. Some were human-made—uniform, with straight edges and neat windows—while others had been built by the demiurgus, their lines more fluid and organic. Like gigantic termite nests made from volcanic rock.

“What’s your house like?” I asked, looking back at Greid.

He hunched over a little further, ears fluttering. “Uh, maybe you should just wait and see.” Glancing over at me, he rushed to add, “It’s not dirty, it’s… I just have a lot of stuff.”

I grinned, thinking of my fairly spartan room at the compound. A big space with very little in it—just a wardrobe, bed, vanity, chest of drawers and a single armchair. No decorations or ornaments. No interesting pieces of furniture. Just blocks of blond wood.

“I don’t mind stuff,” I told Greid. “I bet you have a lot of interesting stuff.”

“That reminds me, where’s the rest of your stuff?” Greid jerked his chin toward the back of the car. “Did you want to come back for it another day?”

I chuckled. “Nope, that’s it. It all fit in two suitcases.”

He shot me an alarmed look. “Really?”

“Yep.”

After a moment of silence, he huffed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “We can”—a slight shudder wracked his lanky frame—“go shopping if you want. Or you could look online and order some stuff.”